Its  Origin,  Plans,  Purposes,  Endorsements, 


Constitution  & Officers. 


VVc  lmve  hold  of  an  important  secret;  and  we  must  not  hush 
"l*'  Rev.  Dr.  Howard  Orosry,  at  Cooper  Institute. 


ORGANIZED,  NOVEMBER  27,  1874. 


NEW  YORK: 


J.  W.  ORR  CO.,  113  LIBERTY  STREET. 


3 5 /.‘S' 3 
JSbtA 


Inasmuch  as  the  great  Metropolis  so  readily  forgets  even 
those  plans  for  its  own  improvement  that  have  met  with 
the  highest  favor,  it  has  been  thought  best  by  the  friends 
of  “ The  Down-Town  Dwelling  and  Lodging-House  Move- 
ment,” in  bringing  it  again  before  the  general  public,  to 
present  it  in  the  shape  of  extracts  from  the  numerous  arti- 
cles upon  the  subject  that  appeared  in  the  New  York 
daily  papers  during  last  winter  and  spring.  These  give 
such  a complete  history  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  en- 
terprise, that  little  needs  to  be  added,  in  order  to  show 
what  has  been  done  in  this  connection,  and  what  further 
action  is  proposed. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  immediate  cause  of  the 
efforts  put  forth  last  winter  toward  a systematic  and  or- 
ganized movement  for  improving  the  homes  of  the  masses 
in  this  city  was,  the  suggestion  of  a plan  for  using  down- 
town lofts  as  residences  for  a portion  of  the  population 
that  is  now — according  to  the  best  sanitary  authorities — 
crowding  to  suffocation  some  of  the  upper  wards. 

It  was  at  first  proposed  to  organize  a society  for  practi- 
cal experiment,  and  with  a fund  for  guaranteeing  owners 
against  loss ; but  as  will  be  seen  by  the  “ constitution  ” 
annexed,  the  final  conclusion  was  to  confine  the  work  of 
the  Association,  as  such,  to  gathering  and  disseminating 
valuable  information,  leaving  the  testing  of  theories  tb  in- 
dividual members. 

p 3991 4 


4 


The  constitution  says:  “The  objects  of  the  Society  will 
be  to  improve,  cheapen  and  render  more  accessible  and 
more  attractive  the  homes  of  the  masses  of  the  people,  and 
to  promote  the  normal  distribution  of  population  in  town 
and  country.”  The  last  feature  could  be  made  to  pay  all 
the  expenses  of  the  society,  if  carried  out  according  to  the 
plan  of  the  “ Migration  Bureau,”  of  which  Horace  Greeley 
was  the  zealous  president,  and  which  died  with  him. 

As  to  the  general  progress  of  the  down-town  dwelling 
movement,  it  may  be  said  that  tenement  houses  of  the  or- 
dinary style  are  rising  all  over  the  first,  second  and  third 
wards.  This  army  of  invasion  has  one  picket  as  high  up 
Greenwich  Street  as  the  corner  of  Dey  (in  place  of  old 
North  River  Bank),  and  another  on  John,  near  William. 
At  the  finest  point  on  State  Street,  fronting  the  Battery, 
where  middle-class  French  flats  would  bring  high  rents, 
two  common  tenement  houses  have  just  been  erected  ; but 
it  is  not  too  late  to  save  that  beautiful  district  for  those 
who  would  thoroughly  appreciate  it. 

Special  attention  is  invited  to  the  statement  of  that  sa- 
gacious and  successful  real-estate  operator,  Mr.  Edward 
Matthews,  who  has  had  the  two  upper  lofts  of  a fine  store 
on  Broadway,  below  Wall  Street,  in  profitable  use  as 
dwellings  (7  suites)  for  over  a year.  It  should  be  noted 
also  that  thousands  of  janitors  are  occupying  corners  of 
otherwise  deserted  upper  floors  in  palatial  buildings,  which 
would  furnish  delightful  homes  for  ten  times  as  many  oc- 
cupants. 

The  remarkable  interest  excited  by  this  project  last 
winter  has  not  abated.  The  final  public  act  of  the  tempo- 
rary committee  having  it  in  charge  was,  to  hold  the  meet- 
ing on  March  9tli,  in  Cooper  Institute.  The  Committee 
of  seven  selected  at  that  meeting  to  prepare  a plan  met  at 
Dr.  Crosby’s  Church ; all  appointed  being  present. 

They  chose  a sub-committee  to  prepare  a “constitution.” 
When  this  had  been  done,  and  the  proofs  sent  to  the  other 
members,  the  season  had  so  far  advanced  that  some  of  the 


D 


Committee  and  many  other  leading  citizens  were  about  to 
start  for  Europe,  and  it  was  therefore  decided  to  defer  fur- 
ther action  until  Autumn. 

Meantime,  those  who  have  been  active  in  the  matter 
have  been  frequently  questioned  by  persons  of  all  classes 
concerning  the  progress  of  the  proposed  society.  Even 
the  workingmen,  usually  so  suspicious  of  plans  for  their 
benefit,  originating  outside  of  their  class,  have  in  several 
cases  passed  resolutions  in  their  most  important  society 
meetings,  favoring  the  proposed  new  style  of  tenements ; 
while  many  of  our  most  eminent  citizens  candidly  acknowl- 
edge, that  New  York  to-day,  is  behind  most  other  great 
cities  of  the  civilized  world,  in  providing  suitable  homes 
for  its  laboring  population,  and  readily  agree  to  the  urgent 
necessity  of  promptly  remedying  this  grave  and  threaten- 
ing evil. 


From  Daily  Graphic  and  World , Feb.  5 & 6,  1874. 
NOVEL  CO-OPERATION. 


A New  Scheme  for  Down-Town  Lodging-Houses  for 
Clerks  and  Saleswomen — Endorsements  by  Rey. 
Howard  Crosby,  Peter  Cooper,  Rey.  George  H. 
Hepworth  and  others. 

The  following  correspondence  on  the  subject  of  a neiv 
application  of  practical  co-operation  explains  itself : 

Dear  Sir  : — The  agents  of  large  estates  in  the  lower 
part  of  this  city,  complain  that  many  of  their  old  ware- 
houses are  either  vacant  or  rented  at  very  low  rates. 
Your  attention  is  invited  to  that  part  of  the  accompanying 
pamphlet  by  Health  Commissioner  Stephen  Smith  which 
shows  that  New  York  has  a denser  population  in  some 
wards  than  any  city  of  the  world,  and  proposes  the  use  of 
those  old  warehouses  as  tenements. 

As  complaint  would  be  made  in  some  quarters  that  such 
use  of  the  buildings  would  further  depreciate  the  value  of 
the  adjacent  property,  it  might  be  well  to  restrict  their  use 
for  the  present  in  such  districts  to  “ co-operative  lodging- 
houses/7  for  clerks,  saleswomen,  and  skilled  artisans  of 
both  sexes. 


7 


Many  of  the  business  firms  of  London  now  furnish 
board  and  lodgings  to  their  employes  on  the  upper  floors 
of  their  stores.  American  independence  would  interfere 
with  the  success  of  this  system  here,  unless  it  was  made 
very  attractive.  The  following 

FLAK  FOR  A LODGING-HOUSE  FOR  CLERKS  AND 
SALESWOMEN, 

would  seem  to  meet  all  requirements.  Let  a large  build- 
ing or  the  upper  floors  of  a row  of  warehouses  be  fitted  up 
with  lodging,  dining  and  sitting  rooms — one  wing  to  be 
devoted  to  unmarried  women  and  another  to  unmarried 
men ; and  let  a portion  of  the  building  be  assigned  to 
small  families,  such  as  now  board  at  cheap  rates.  Let  it 
be  understood  that  the  establishment  is  to  be  conducted 
upon  the  plan  of  “ mixed  schools  and  colleges,”  like  “ Anti" 
och,”  where  the  unmarried  meet  only  in  the  “ common 
rooms” — dining,  sitting,  &c.  Here,  then,  will  be  the  con- 
stituents of  human  society  as  nature  builds  it  up  when 
untrammeled.  The  herding  of  young  men  and  women 
strictly  by  themselves  must  always  fail,  except  under  an 
iron  monastic  rule.  No  place  can  be  properly  called  a 
66  home  ” which  does  not  contain  the  old  and  young  and 
middle-aged  of  both  sexes. 

The  institution  proposed  should  be  managed  as  far  as 
possible  upon  the  co-operative  plan — the  price  of  living 
the  pay  of  superintendence  and  service,  rising  and  falling 
each  month,  according  to  the  number  of  inmates  and  the 
general  success.  Thus  all  would  be  interested  in  keeping 
the  house  full,  preserving  harmony,  saving  furniture,  food, 
&c.  Everything  in  the  shape  of  library,  reading-room, 
museum,  lecture-room,  and  garden  that  could  be  added 
would  help  to  insure  success. 

The  steam-engine  and  other  inventions  have  so  changed 
the  mode  of  activity  that  new  styles  of  living  are  necessary, 
especially  for  women,  A hundred  years  ago  the  women  of 


the  farm-house  had  full  legitimate  employment  in  spinning, 
weaving,  knitting,  cutting  and  making  clothes,  making 
soap,  cheese,  brooms,  baskets,  &c.  Now  all  this  is  done 
by  machinery;  and  the  women,  robbed  of  their  vaunted 
“ home  industries,”  are  drifting  by  millions  into  the  trade 
centres  to  their  destruction.  True,  normal  city  homes, 
where’  they  have  a restricted  association  with  each  other, 
would  do  much  to  keep  the  young  men  and  women  of  our 
country  from  being  swept  away  by  the  ever-swifter  cur- 
rent of  vice  and  immorality.  Samuel  Leavitt. 


The  above  design  strikes  me  as  most  valuable  and  feasi- 
ble ; and  in  my^opinion,  if  carried  out,  would  tell  strongly 
for  the  improved  morality  and  thrift  of  our  city. 

December  30,  1873.  Howard  Crosby. 


In  my  opinion,  one  of  the  greatest  wants,  sanitary  and 
social,  of  the  working  classes  of  New  York,  is  the  oppor- 
tunity of  cultivating  the  virtues  of  domestic  and  home 
life,  and  this  opportunity  is  daily  diminishing,  owing  to 
the  constantly  increasing  pressure  upon  the  limited  house 
accommodation.  The  most  feasible  plan  of  meeting  this 
want  is  that  suggested  above.  Stephen  Smith,  M.  D. 

December  30,  1873. 


I agree  entirely  in  the  favorable  opinions  of  this  plan  ex- 
pressed by  Dr.  Crosby  and  Dr.  Smith,  and,  as  the  initiative 
of  a much-needed  improvement,  I should  like  to  see  it  car- 
ried into  effect.  Parke  Godwin. 

January  2,  1874. 


I very  heartily  concur  in  the  opinion  expressed  by  the 
gentlemen  whose  names  are  signed  above,  and  should  be 
glad  to  have  the  experiment  tried.  Geo.  H.  Hepworth. 


9 


The  subject  is  one  of  great  importance,  and,  while  the 
plan  is  not  so  fully  stated  as  to  enable  me  to  pass  a very 
definite  judgment  upon  it,  I can  see  in  it  some  elements 
for  an  experiment  which  might  be  one  of  great  public 
utility.  Dormant  B.  Eatok. 

January  5,  1874. 


I heartily  concur  in  the  general  approbation  of  the  plan 
set  forth  for  improving  the  condition  of  the  laboring 
classes.  Peter  Cooper. 


I cheerfully  concur  in  the  above. 

Dakiel  F.  Tiemax. 


I cordially  approve  of  the  effort  to  devise  methods  by 
which  bodily  and  moral  health  may  be  secured  to  working 
men  and  women,  in  homes  that  will  encourage  habits  of 
virtue  and  economy ; and  I believe  Mr.  Leavitt’s  proposi- 
tions tend  to  plans  which  will  secure  these  results  to 
classes  that  at  present  come  far  short  of  them. 

Elisha  Harris,  M.  D. 


Of  course,  no  substitute  for  home  can  be  quite  equal  to 
home  itself.  But  the  plan  here  proposed  seems  to  me  bet- 
ter, at  all  events,  than  the  present  order  of  things,  and  I 
would  like  to  see  it  tried.  Roswell  D.  Hitchcock. 

January  28,  1874. 


The  plan  proposed  is  not  “ co-operative,”  and  would  be 
liable  to  many  practical  difficulties  arising  from  the  rela- 
tions of  the  two  sexes  and  the  embarrassed  condition  of 
the  working  classes  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  Still, 
under  strict  supervision,  and  with  a first-rate  business 
manager,  it  might  succeed  and  do  a great  deal  of  good. 
The  experiment  is  worth  trying.  Charles  L.  Brace. 

January  28,  1874. 


10 


n 

a 


From  the  World , March  4,  1874. 

THE  SOUTH-SIDE  ASSOCIATION. 
Down-Town  Middle-Class  Dwellings,  Lodging- 
Houses  foe  Clerks,  &c. — A Public  Meeting  An- 
nounced. 

New  York,  March  2,  1874. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  World: 

Sir  : I have  been  requested  to  send  you  a statement 
concerning  the  progress  of  the  down-town  dwelling  move- 
ment. A temporary  Committee  is  organizing  a “ South 
Side  Association  ” with  the  purpose  of  attracting  a part  of 
the  surplus  population  of  the  more  densely  peopled  wards 
into  the  south  end  of  the  Island,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
utilizing  the  unprofitable  store  property  in  the  latter  dis- 
trict, by  converting  it  into  cheap  and  commodious  resi- 
dences. To  make  the  latter  feature  largely  successful,  it 
is  proposed  to  organize  the  means  and  facilities  for  guar- 
anteeing against  loss  those  owners  who  may  be  induced 
to  alter  their  buildings  in  accordance  with  the  plans  of  the 
Association  ; such  means  to  embrace  a bureau,  within  the 
pale  of  the  Association,  and  legally  availing  of  such  trusts, 
bequests  and  legacies  as  may  be  offered  for  this  and  kin- 
dred purposes.  The  immediate  cause  of  the  undertaking 
of  this  work,  was  a statement  by  Health  Commissioner 
Stephen  Smith,  that  some  parts  of  this  City  are  more  dense- 
ly peopled  than  any  equal  area,  elsewhere  in  the  civilized 
world,  and  that  there  were  many  half  occupied  stoiu  s down 
town  which  could  be  used  as  dwellings.  The  following 
comparative  table  exhibits  the  population  to  the  square 
acre  of  the  tenement-house  classes  of  New  York  and  Lon- 
don, according  to  the  census  of  1870  : 


NEW  YORK. 

Eleventh  Ward, 328 

Thirteenth  Ward,  ....  311 
Fourteenth  Ward,  ....  275 
Seventeenth  Ward, . . . . 289 


LONDON. 

Strand, 307 

St.  Luke's, 259 

East  London, 26(3 

Holborn, 229 


The  tenement  wards  of  New  York  contain  half  the  pop- 
ulation, and  this  half  yields  75  per  cent  of  the  mortality, 
besides  being  fearfully  degraded  by  defective  house  accom- 
modation. 

Rapid  transit  to  the  suburbs  lias  been  generally  relied 
upon  to  relieve  this  evil ; but  it  would  have  to  be  cheap 


11 


indeed,  to  attract  this  class  from  the  city.  A distinguished 
philanthropist  says  that  the  fares  of  the  railroads  will  have 
to  be  reduced  to  25  cents  per  week,  to  bring  them  within 
the  incomes  of  the  poor  in  cities.  Whatever  may  be  done 
in  this  way,  there  is  a method  immediately  practicable  for 
greatly  relieving  the  pressure.  The  commerce  which  has 
neen  for  twenty-five*  years  driving  these  people  from  the 
First,  Second  and  Third  wards,  and  is  now  pushing  them 
from  the  Fifth,  Sixth,  Seventh  and  Eighth  wards,  is  leaving 
the  warehouses  of  the  lower  wards.  The  Second  ward  nowT 
contains  1317  great  stores  and  1312  residents;  while  statis- 
tics show  that,  especially  within  the  last  five  years,  com- 
merce has  been  declining  in  that  ward,  with  a corresponding 
increase  in  the  Fifth  and  Eighth.  Those  spacious  ware- 
houses, well  ventilated  and  drained,  are  peculiarly  adapted 
to  such  alterations.  In  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  the  old  build- 
ings of  a deserted  quarter  were  converted  into  model  dwell- 
ings for  the  poor  with  gratifying  results,  such  as  a decrease 
of  general  death  rate  and  improved  morals.  In  London, 
while  the  Peabody  and  Burdett-Coutts  model  dwellings 
have  improved  the  condition  of  hundreds  of  families,  they 
have  not  paid  any  interest  on  capital.  Sir  Sidney  Water- 
low’s  430  tenements,  being  at  once  convenient  and  econom- 
ically built,  pay  a good  per  cent.  But  the  London  architects 
have  proved  that  it  is  far  cheaper  to  convert  old  buildings 
into  model  tenement-houses  than  to  build  anew ; and  that 
even  there  the  improvements  bring  a return  of  ten  to  twenty 
per  cent — tenants  willingly  paying  a fair  rent.  The  ex- 
periment has  been  tried  in  many  cases  in  this  city  with  fair 
success.  It  is  estimated  that  the  warehouses  of  the  Second 
ward  would  accommodate  on  the  average  100  persons. 

* * * * * * 

This  idea  of  the  transfer  of  population,  in  connection 
with  the  new  plan — heretofore  published — for  co-operative 
lodging-houses  for  clerks,  saleswomen,  etc.,  has  met  writh 
general  favor  among  leading  citizens  during  the  past  win- 
ter. ****** 

Three  private  committee  meetings  have  been  held  in  the 
chapel-parlor  of  Dr.  Howard  Crosby’s  church,  to  arrange 
for  practical  action.  This  committee  includes  Howard 
Crosby(  chairman ),  William  C.  Church,  Elisha  Harris,  Ab- 
ram S.  Hewitt,  James  B.  Hodgskin  (treasurer),  Richard  M. 
Hoe,  John  Taylor  Johnston,  William  R.  Martin,  Willard 
Parker,  Carl  Pfeiffer,  Howard  Potter,  Gr.  W.  Samson, 
Stephen  Smith,  R.  L.  Stuart,  and  other  leading  citizens. 


In  addition  to  tlie  endorsements  of  the  plan  referred  to 
above  [see  “ Novel  Co-operation”],  that  have  been  published 
and  commented  upon  by  the  press,  the  following  are  taken 
from  more  recent  letters : 

tlie  proposed  undertaking  liat)  my  hearty  sympathy  — M.  K. 
Jesup. 

Anything  that  can  be  done  to  lessen  the  legitimate  expenses  of 
the  citizens  of  ISew  York  should  meet  with  universal  favor. — Wil- 
son G.  Hunt.- 

The  providing  of  comfortable  homes  for  persons  of  moderate 
means  is  a most  worthy  object. — Paul  N.  Spofford. 

Theobject  stated  is  a good  one  and  well  worthy  of  the  attention 
of  owners  of  real  estate  at  the  south  end  of  the  island.  These  I 
am  sure  will  find  it  to  their  interest  to  promote  it ; while  all  ben- 
evolent persons  will  wish  it  success.  * * There  may  be  some 

so  sitpated  that  they  could  not  avail  themselves  of  north  side  ad- 
vantages. For  such  your  plan  is  the  best  relief  from  the  terrible 
evils  which  are  now  imposed  upon  residents  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  city. — Hiram  Barney . 

T was  unexpectedly  prevented  from  appearing  at  the  meeting. 

* * * I cannot  do  less  than  express  my  interest  in  the  ente  r- 
prise.— M . 8.  Beach. 

I believe  the  enterprise  a very  good  one. — Benjamin  Aymar. 

My  residence  in  the  country  prevents  my  attendance  in  the  good 
cause  of  “ down-town  dwellings/’  * * '*  I think  this  must  be 
especially  deserving. — John  E.  Williams. 

The  committee  will  hold  a public  meeting,  Monday, 
March  9,  at  8 p.  M.,  in  the  Geographical  Society’s  hall, 
Cooper  Institute,  which  will  be  addressed  by  eminent  cler- 
gymen, physicians,  business  men  and  architects,  whose 
names  will  be  published  on  Saturday.  Meanwhile  commun- 
ications upon  the  general  movement  or  relative  to  build- 
ings considered  available  for  our  purpose,  may  be  addressed 
to  Samuel  Leavitt,  Sec. 


From  Com.  Advertiser , Feb.,  1874. — Editorial. 
LODGING  HOUSES. 

The  idea  is  that  of  a home  on  home-principles,  admitting 
of  the  association  of  the  sexes,  and  furnished  with  facili- 
ties for  innocent  intellectual  recreation,  such  as  books, 
music  and  other  means  for  diversion  ; the  expenses  of  the 
institution  to  be  defrayed  equitably  by  all  concerned. 
The  plan  is  endorsed  by  Chancellor  Crosby,  Dr.  Stephen 


13 


Smith,  Ex-Mayor  Tieman,  and  the  ever  philanthropieal 
and  practical  Mr.  Peter  Cooper,  with  other  well-known 
and  respected  gentlemen.  The  intention  of  the  scheme  is 
certainly  most  excellent,  and  we  presume,  that  under 
proper  direction  it  might  be  effectually  carried  out. 


From  Evening  Mail , Feb.,  1874 — Editorial . 

ROOM  ENOUGH  AT  THE  TOP. 

Daniel  Webster  once  said  to  an  aspiring  but  modest 
young  lawyer,  who  expressed  his  apprehension  that  the 
profession  was  over-crowded : “ My  young  friend,  there 
is  always  plenty  of  room  at  the  top  ” — a wise  observation 
which  applies  to  all  professions  and  all  sorts  of  business. 
So  we  might  say,  wresting  the  great  statesman’s  remark 
from  its  original  application,  that  there  is  “ plenty  of  room 
at  the  top  ” for  tens  of  thousands  of  the  workers  who  are 
crowded  into  the  narrow  limits  of  this  island. 

Below  Fourteenth  street  it  is  safe  to  estimate  that  there 
are  enough  wholesome,  pleasant  and  airy,  unoccupied 
upper  rooms  to  accommodate  comfortably  at  least  twenty 
thousand  persons.  If  these  quarters  could  be  made  avail- 
able and  attractive,  they  would  gradually  fill  up  with  just 
the  classes  who  most  need  to  lodge  within  a convenient 
distance  from  their  places  of  employment — such  as  clerks, 
seamstresses,  saleswomen,  etc.  When  a single  owner  or 
firm  has  the  disposal  of  a large  building,  provision  might 
be  made  for  a common  kitchen  and  laundry,  and  a steam 
elevator  might  render  the  height  from  the  ground  a mat- 
ter of  slight  consequence. 

In  this  connection,  we  are  glad  to  welcome  the  practical 
hints  given  by  Mr.  Samuel  Leavitt,  who  suggests  the  fol- 
lowing plan : ***** 

The  experiments  made  by  such  institutions  as  the  Park 
Bank,  in  providing  within  its  own  building,  an  excellent 
and  economical  lunch  for  its  employees,  has  been  a remark- 


14 


able  success — conducing  to  the  moral,  as  well  as  physical 
and  economical  welfare  of  the  clerks.  Why  should  not  as 
beneficial  results  follow  from  the  provision  of  suitable, 
well-regulated  and  cheap  lodgings  for  the  employees  of 
our  banks,  stores  and  insurance  companies  ? 

From  Tribune , March  10,  1874. 
DOWN-TOWN  LODGING-HOUSES. 

A few  weeks  ago  several  gentleman  of  this  city  formed  a 
Provisional  Committee  to  investigate  the  feasibility  of  tran- 
forming  the  many  unoccupied  stores  and  lofts  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  city  into  attractive  lodging-houses  for  the  clerks 
and  artisans  who  are  employed  in  that  neighborhood.  The 
results  of  their  investigations  were  given  at  a meeting  held 
in  the  rooms  jf  the  Geographical  Society  last  evening.  The 
Rev.  G.  W.  Samson  presided  and  Samuel  Leavitt  acted  as 
secretary.  Mr.  Leavitt  read  a report  showing  the  vast  num- 
ber of  stores  and  parts  of  stores  which  are  unoccupied,  even 
at  very  low  rent,  below  Canal-st.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Howard 
Crosby  said  the  whole  project  was  a charitable  one  and  for 
the  benefit  of  the  whole  community.  They  wanted  to  bring 
out  a feeling  which  should  manifest  itself  in  helping  the 
poorer  classes  of  the  citizens  to  lodging-houses  nearer  the 
places  wThere  they  worked  and  of  higher  and  healthier  char- 
acter than  the  places  they  at  present  occupy.  The  project 
besides  being  charitable  would  bring  more  money  to  owners 
of  property,  by  turning  their  now  unprofitable  lofts  into 
rent-producing  residences. 

Carl  Pfeiffer,  who  had  been  investigating  the  question  of 
profit  to  property  owners,  said  that  stores  25  feet  in  width 
could  be  altered  into  rooms  suitable  for  clerks  for  about 
$8,000,  and  easily  leased  so  as  to  return  an  income  of  11 
per  cent  upon  the  investment.  Tenement  accommodations 
could  be  made  at  a lower  cost,  and  yield  a return  of  about 
15  per  cent.  He  submitted  a number  of  plans  for  remod- 
eling stores  and  lofts  for  this  puipose. 

, ^ 4 < 

From  Fv.  Post , March  10,  1874 — Editorial . 
ENLARGING  THE  CAPACITY  OF  THE  CITY. 

An  important  meeting  wras  held  last  evening,  at  one  of  the 
rooms  of  the  Cooper  Institute,  to  consider  the  propriety  of 


15 


converting  the  upper  lofts  of  our  unoccupied  down-town 
stores  into  dwelling-places.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Samson  of 
Rutgers  College  presided  and  Mr.  Samuel  Leavitt  acted  as 
secretary.  It  was  stated  by  the  speakers  that  the  object 
was  to  obtain  proper  lodgings  and  residences  for  clerks 
aid  others,  by  the  use  of  certain  stores  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  City  Hall,  Warren,  Murray,  around  Greenwich,  and 
Washington  streets,  &e.  It  was  shown  from  personal  in- 
quiry that  many  of  the  stores  in  this  portion  of  the  city 
from  Barclay  Street  to  the  Battery  had  their  third  and 
fourth  lofts  idle,  and  could  be  procured  at  a nominal  rent. 
They  are  perfectly  useless  as  they  exist,  and  a reproach  to 
the  citizens  of  New  York,  and  instead  of  being  dwellings 
for  our  fellow-men  are  used  by  the  bats  and  owls  of  trade. 


Com.  Advertiser , March  10,  1874 — Editorial. 

THE  LODGING-HOUSE  MOVEMENT. 

The  meeting  at  the  rooms  of  the  Geographical  Society,  last 
evening,  to  consider  the  needs  of  clerks  and  artisans  in 
the  matter  of  lodging-houses,  reached  so  much  of  a con- 
clusion as  to  appoint  a committee  of  prominent  and  respon- 
sible gentlemen  to  effect  an  organization  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  out  the  plan  desired.  It  was  pointed  out  — and 
which  is  obviously  true  enough — that  empty  stores  at  low 
rents  are  very  plentiful  this  season,  and  that  these  could 
be  readily  adapted  for  the  purpose  in  question.  Any  plan 
which  will  result  in  giving  those  who  care  to  avail  them- 
selves of  its  convenience,  a more  agreeable  home  than  they 
can  ordinarily  procure,  and  contiguous  to  their  business, 
will  be  serviceable  to  those  immediately  concerned,  and  to 
their  employers  and  the  general  public  as  well,  in  relieving 
the  streets  of  idle  youths  who  become  the  victims  of 
temptations  from  the  want  of  congenial  association  and 
comfortable  quarters  at  home.  The  matter  is  in  the  hands 
of  prompt  and  energetic  gentlemen,  and  will  doubtless, 
be  carried  through  satisfactorily. 


16 


From  World,  March  10,  1874. 

CHEAP  LOFTS  FOR  CLERKS. 

TIIK  MOVEMENT  TAKING  FORM — MEETING  OF  THE  SOUTII-SI  f)E 
ASSOCIATION  LAST  EVENING. 

A meeting  of  those  interested  in  the  scheme  of  making 
use  of  the  lofts  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city  as  dwellings  for 
clerks  and  those  possessed  of  moderate  incomes  was  held 
last  night  at  the  rooms  of  the  Geographical  Society  in 
Cooper  Institute.  Dr.  Samson  was  made  chairman  of  the 
meeting  and  Mr.  Samuel  Leavitt  Secretary.  Mr.  Leavitt 
read  a report  which  gave  an  account  of  a large  number  of 
buildings  visited  by  him  during  the  past  week,  which  could 
be  used  for  the  purposes  mentioned  above.  In  the  lower- 
part  of  the  city,  near  the  Battery,  and  even  as  high  as  Ve- 
sey  street,  there  were  a large  number  of  lofts  which  could 
be  adapted  easily  for  dwellings  purposes,  and  which  rented 
from  $250  to  $400  per  year  for  each  loft,  25  feet  in  width  by 
75  to  100  feet  in  depth.  The  best  place  for  beginning  the 
work  would  be  in  Warren  and  Murray  streets  ; but  the 
prices  were  too  high,  the  rents  running  as  high  as  $1,200  to 
$1,500  per  year  lor  each  loft.  Dr.  Crosby  said:  the  whole 
proposition  is  one  for  the  benefit  of  our  fellow-citizens,  and 
should  therefore  appeal  to  the  charitable  feelings  of  New 
Yorkers  to  help  the  poorer  classes  of  our  citizens  to  a better 
class  of  lodging-houses,  and  also  to  bring  those  lodging- 
houses  nearer  their  place  of  business.  But  this  is  not  the 
only  appeal  that  we  can  make ; we  can  also  go  to  those  who 
own  these  buildings  and  say  to  them;  You  can  make  money 
out  of  this  business.  The  examination  that  has  thus  far 
been  made  will  prove  this  latter  fact  without  a doubt.  We 
must  have  an  organization  to  back  us  so  that  we  can  go  to 
these  men  and  say;  This  is  not  an  experiment;  we  can  guar- 
antee all  we  say.  There  is  a still  further  view  to  take  in 
this  matter  ; there  is  a moral  advantage  in  such  a plan.  In 
places  were  we  can  get  three  or  four  dwellings  together  we 
purpose  having  in  the  central  part  of  the  group  a large  well- 
lighted,  well-ventilated,  and  comfortable  sitting  and  reading 
room  for  the  husbands  and  sons  of  the  families,  so  they 
may  not  have  to  go  to  the  dram  shop  for  society.  We  feel 
that  a society  should  be  organizedto  carry  on  this  great 
work,  by  which  100,000  families  can  be  accommodated  with 
homes  without  the  men  having  to  travel  three  or  four  miles 
each  day  to  and  from  their  places  of  work.  Mr.  Carl  Pfeiffer 


17 


said  lie  had  examined  a large  number  of  the  buildings  men- 
tioned by  Mr.  Leavitt ; and  from  calculations  made  by  him 
he  believed  that  these  lofts  could  be  rented,  altered  into 
dwelling-places,  and  then  rented  at  prices  below  those  at 
present  charged  in  the  upper  parts  of  the  city,  and  yet 
bring  in  a clear  interest  of  11  to  15  per  cent,  on  the  money 
invested.  Mr.  Pfeiffer  said  he  had  conversed  with  both 
store-owners  and  clerks  and  those  who  lived  in  tenement 
houses,  and  from  all  lie  found  the  same  willingness— on  the 
one  hand,  to  lease  their  lofts  and  make  the  necessary  alter- 
ation, and  on  the  other,  to  rent  such  dwellings  when  com- 
pleted. He  also  presented  a number  of  plans  for  making 
such  alterations.  Mr.  Wolfe  and  Mr.  J.  B,  Hodgskin  also 
spoke  in  favor  of  the  plan, 


from  Times , March  10,  1874. 
CO-OPERATIVE  LODGINGS  FOR  CLERKS. 

In  the  geographical  department  of  the  Cooper  Union  a 
meeting  of  merchants,  professional  gentleman  and  others 
anxious  to  procure  proper  accommodation  for  clerks  was 
held  yesterday  evening.  Rev.  Dr.  Samson,  President  of 
Rutgers  College,  who  was  called  to  the  chair,  stated  that 
Mr.  Leavitt  acting  as  secretary,  would  direct  their  attention 
to  information  he  procured  recently  regarding  the  object 
of  their  meeting.  The  secretary  said  they  desired  to  obtain 
proper  lodgings  and  residences  for  clerks  and  others  by  con- 
verting stores  located  down  town,  in  the  vicinity  of  City 
Hall,  Warren,  Murray,  around  Greenwich,  and  Washington 
streets,  &c.;  and  showed  from  personal  inquiry  that  many 
of  the  stores  in  this  portion  of  the  city,  from  Barclay  street 
to  the  Battery,  had  their  third  and  fourth  lofts  idle,  and 
could  be  procured  at  a nominal  rent.  They  are  perfect- 
ly useless  as  they  exist,  and  a reproach  to  the  citizens  of 
New  York,  and,  instead  of  being  dwellings  for  our  fellow- 
men,  are  used  for  the  bats  and  owls  of  trade.  He  said  there 
was  no  tangible  reason  why  they  could  not  be  purchased 
and  renovated.  Some  might  say  impediments  would  be 
thrown  in  the  way  by  the  proprietors,  but  it  was  to  their 
advantage,  as  well  as  the  citizens,  that  they  should  be  util- 
ized. He  had  facts  from  real-estate  agents  showing  how,  in 
some  cases,  whole  buildings  could  be  procured  at  $1,800  or 
$2,000  and  lofts  low  in  proportion.  He  advocated  the  advan- 


18 


tages  of  removing  Castle  Garden,  so  inconveniently  situ- 
ated at  present  for  the  transportation  of  emigrants  to  the 
railroad  depots.  Dr.  Crosby,  who  was  Chairman  of  the  Pro- 
visional Committee,  said  it  was  for  the  benefit  of  our  fellow 
citizens  this  idea  of  providing  suitable  homes  was  projected, 
and  appealed  to  the  philanthropy,  love,  and  charity  of  New 
York  to  help  forward  the  much-needed  work.  He  said,  when 
charity  meant  money  many  took  it  up  and  gave  assistance ; 
so  the  proprietors  of  stores  must  be  met  by  saying  it  was  a 
charity  to  make  these  improvements,  and  that  by  letting 
their  unused  lofts  they  would  receive  an  income  on  what 
otherwise  would  remain  idle  for  a quarter  of  a century.  He 
said  diagrams  would  be  placed  before  the  meeting  showing 
how  they  could  be  refitted  for  dwellings,  and  made  healthy 
and  comfortable.  If  a guarantee  were  required  it  would  be 
given.  It  had  a moral  welfaie  in  view,  also;  when  two  or 
three  lofts  in  stores  attached  were  taken,  a common  pas- 
sage made  through  them,  a large  sitting-room  could  be  set 
apart  to  which  the  father,  children  and  wives,  not  the  least 
attraction,  could  spend  their  evenings  socially  and  benefi- 
cially, instead  of  resorting  to  the  rum-shop  to  avoid  the 
disgust  of  the  present  tenement-houses.  Moreover,  those 
residing  far  up  town  had  the  inconvenience  resulting  from 
a loss  of  time  and  expense  for  car-fare  in  crowded  filthy 
cars.  He  suggested  that  the  merchants  should  form  them- 
selvs  into  a society  as  the  have  so  much  to  do  with  this  class 
of  our  citizens.  This,  he  said,  would  be  a practical  form  of 
rapid  transit.  Mr.  Pfeiffer  was  introduced  and  observed 
that  it  was  an  enterprise  paying  and  feasible.  He  gave 
instances  in  Old  Slip  where  more  could  be  realized  by  con- 
verting lofts  into  dwellings  than  otherwise,  and  showed  they 
were  cheaper  and  more  beneficial  than  tenement-rooms ; 
that  clerks  and  book-keepers  informed  him  they  would 
gladly  seize  an  opportunity  of  convenience  and  being  near 
their  places  of  business.  He  exhibited  plans  of  stores, 
showing  how  they  could  be  remodeled.  Mr.  Hodgskin 
was  next  introduced,  and  combatted  the  idea  that  New 
York  was  overcrowded.  He  argued  the  contrary,  pointing 
out  the  immense  number  these  now  useless  stores  would 
accommodate  ; that  the  whole  country  was  concerned  in  the 
enterprise,  and  it  was  right  and  proper  the  citizens  should 
interest  themselves  in  the  project.  The  only  persons  who 
seemed,  he  said,  to  appreciate  the  lower  districts  were  rum 
sellers,  and  it  was  a shame  they  should  be  the  pioneers  in 


19 


a matter  of  such  importance.  He  alluded  to  the  censures 
and  howlings  against  men  clamoring  for  an  eight  hour 
system,  but  said  it  should  be  remembered  many  of  these 
lived  at  such  a distance  as  to  require  their  leaving  home  at 
6 in  the  morning,  and  they  could  not  return  until  7 or  8 
at  night. 


Journal  of  Commerce,  March  11,  1871 — Editorial. 
TRANSFORMING  LOFTS  TO  TENEMENTS. 

* * * * * * * 

They  estimate  ( and  we  think  there  they  are  not  out  of 
the  way)  that  there  are  top  floors  enough  down  town  to 
hold  100,000  people  comfortably.  These  floors,  it  is  assumed 
could  be  rented  cheaply  on  long  leases,  and  when  fitted  up 
for  occupancy,  could  be  profitably  sub-let  to  people  at 
much  lower  rates  than  they  now  pay  for  less  room  up 
town  or  in  Brooklyn  or  Jersey  City.  One  authority  assures 
us  that  buildings  25  by  100  feet  could  be  remodeled  into 
lodging  apartments  for  §8,000,  and  easily  leased  so  as  to 
yield  11  per  cent  on  the  investment. 

* * * * 5R  * * 

They  should  immediately  abandon  the  philanthropic  tone 
— admirable  in  other  places — and  put  the  whole  enterprise 
on  a simple  business  footing.  And  they  should  not  attempt 
to  make  a joint-stock  company  out  of  it;  but  should  content 
themselves  with  exciting  discussion  of  the  subject,  and 
putting  out  facts  and  figures  which  may  lodge  in  the  minds 
of  capitalists  like  seed,  and  ripen  into  action.  By  taking 
this  course,  the  philanthropists  whose  names  we  see  asso- 
ciated with  the  work  can  effect  their  object  of  benefiting 
their  fellow-men  much  better  than  by  establishing  a society 
of  the  stereotyped  pattern.  If  they  can  prove  to  the  capital- 
ists of  New  York  that  a fair,  safe  profit  can  be  had  on  the 
venture,  they  need  not  fear  that  men  will  hesitate  to  go 
into  it. 

^ ^ 


20 


Why  could  not  those  who  have  been  holding  meetings  at 
Cooper  Institute  and  consulting  about  this,  make  a simple 
experiment  to  begin  with  ? Among  themselves  they  could 
raise  enough  to  test  the  feasibility  of  their  plan.  To  take  a 
now  unoccupied  building  down  town,  turn  it  into  pleasant 
suites  of  rooms  (some  of  them  for  housekeeping),  rent  the 
apartments  to  desirable  tenants,  and  make  10  per  cent,  neat 
on  the  capital,  would  be  worth  fifty  meetings  of  talk  and  a 
hundred  reams  of  paper  demonstration.  In  instituting  such 
a test  we  wish  those  concerned  in  it  every  possible  success. 
Their  theory  is  excellent  indeed.  It  seems  as  if  a host  of 
people  would  be  delighted  with  the  opportunity  of  living 
down-town,  near  their  places  of  occupation,  in  commodious 
and  cheerful  rooms,  instead  of  riding  or  walking  miles  away 
to  the  filthy  and  crowded  tenements  where  they  now  live; 
but  we  can  never  know  whether  this  idea  is  more  than  an 
illusion  until  some  enterprising  persons  will  put  it  to  the 
crucial  test  as  we  propose — demonstrating  at  the  same  time 
that  capitalists  may  be  justified  in  taking  ic  up. 

— , — ♦— -< 

LOFTS  FOR  TENEMENTS. 

New  York,  March  11,  1874. 
Editor  of  the  Jour . of  Commerce  : 

Your  editorial  article  on  transforming  lofts  into  tene- 
ments in  to-day’s  issue  is  eminently  sensible  and  practical. 
That . such  a transformation  would  be  a benefit  to  clerks 
and  to  those  of  the  working-classes  employed  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  island,  can  be  doubted  by  no  one  who  is  famil- 
iar with  the  subject. 

To  be  of  any  real  and  lasting  benefit  to  the  city  and  its 
poorer  inhabitants  it  must  be  pecuniarily  successful.  If 
there  is  a demand  for  down-town  apartments  (of  which 
there  is  no  doubt) — mere  theorizing  from  a charitable 
point  of  view  is  a mistake.  The  supply  of  the  demand 
will  be  a good  investment,  paying,  at  least,  a fair  interest. 

It  is  a great  mistake  to  call  it  an  experiment,  for  the  ins- 
ult is  no  longer  doubtful.  It  has  been  tried,  and  it  has 
succeeded.  Two  years  ago  I altered  into  apartments  two 
floors  of  a building,  two  hundred  feet  deep,  in  Broadway 
below  Wall  street.  These  lofts  had  been  generally  vacant, 


21 


but  since  the  alteration  they  have  given  comfortable  ac- 
commodation to  seven  families.  Pecuniarily  they  have 
paid  a fair  profit,  and  I am  about  to  alter  into  apartments 
of  the  same  style  the  lofts  of  other  buildings,  the  lower 
floors  of  which  will  still  be  occupied  by  offices.  E.  M. 
► — ♦ *&*■  » 

From  Daily  Graphic , March  12,  1874. — Editorial . 

TO  LET. 

Whatever  may  be  the  success  of  Mr.  Samuel  Leavitt’s 
plan  of  utilizing  the  vacant  floors  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
city  for  lodging  purposes,  he  has  at  least  called  the  atten- 
tion of  the  public  to  the  very  large  amount  of  vacant  space 
that  exists  in  the  great  warehouses  of  New  York.  Some 
years  ago  New  York  was  the  center  of  the  jobbing  busi- 
ness of  the  country.  There  were  hundreds  of  merchants 
who  kept  on  hand  vast  quantities  of  hosiery,  boots,  woolen 
and  cotton  goods,  and  other  merchandise,  which  they  re- 
ceived from  the  factories  and  distributed  all  over  the 
Union.  Latterly  the  growth  of  a few  large  houses  here, 
and  the  increase  of  railroad  facilities  in  other  cities  have 
driven  the  smaller  jobbers  out  of  business.  Chicago,  St. 
Louis,  and  other  cities  have  become  the  distributing  points 
for  the  West  and  South-west,  and  the  consequence  is  that 
the  floors  and  lofts  once  filled  with  goods  in  this  city  are 
now  vacant  and  waiting  in  vain  for  tenants. 

Of  course,  we  shall  in  time  get  back  what  we  have  lost 
at  least  in  some  form.  We  must,  however,  increase  our 
facilities  for  handling  goods.  At  present  the  cost  of  cart- 
age from  Forty-second  street  to  the  warehouses,  and  thence 
to  the  river,  or  the  New  Jersey  railroads,  handicaps  our 
merchants  to  an  extent  which  renders  them  unable  to 
compete  in  certain  lines  of  business  with  the  merchants  of 
other  cities.  We  must  have  some  means  of  bringing  our 
warehouses  in  close  proximity  with  our  receiving  and  dis- 
tributing agencies,  and  until  this  is  done  hundreds  of 
floors  in  the  lower  part  of  Broadway  and  the  business  cen- 
tre of  the  city  will  be  “ to  let,”  and  without  applicants 
except  from  the  advocates  of  Mr.  Leavitt’s  philanthropic 
enterprise. 


From  the  Times — Editorial . 
LODGING-HOUSES  FOR  CLERKS. 

The  movement  to  furnish  clerks  and  their  families  with 
co-operative  lodging-houses  in  unoccupied  down-town 
stores  and  warehouses  appears  to  be  gaining  ground. 
The  meeting  held  at  Cooper  Institute  on  Monday  evening 
was  well  attended,  and  many  prominent  citizens  manifested 
their  interest  by  appearing  and  taking  part  in  the  pro- 
ceedings. Some  suggestions  were  made  which  merit  at- 
tention. There  can  be  no  doubt,  in  the  present  condition 
of  local  transit,  that  the  time  lost  by  clerks  in  getting  to 
and  from  their  places  of  business  down  town  to  their 
dwellings  up  town  or  in  the  suburbs,  is  a serious  business 
loss  both  to  them  and  to  their  employers.  And  if  resi- 
dences could  be  arranged  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city, 
which  should  be  at  once  cheap  and  attractive,  they  would, 
no  doubt,  be  eagerly  taken  advantage  of  by  this  class  of 
the  community. 

The  proposition  is  to  utilize  the  upper  lofts,  which  in 
many  down-town  warehouses  are  left  at  present  either 
idle  or  are  let  at  nominal  rents,  by  converting  them  into 
apartments  for  families  or  single  lodgers.  In  cases  where 
two  or  three  adjoining  lofts  can  be  had  they  are  to  be  con- 
nected by  a common  passage-way,  and  to  be  furnished  with 
a common  sitting-room,  where,  in  the  language  of  one  of 
the  speakers,  “ the  father,  children  and  wives  could  spend 
their  evenings  socially  and  beneficially,  instead  of  resorting 
to  the  rum-shop  to  avoid  the  disgust  of  the  present  tene- 
ment houses.”  Apparently,  the  inmates  are  to  eat  in  com- 
mon, though  this  question  could  in  all  probability  be  ar- 
ranged to  suit  individual  taste  or  convenience,  and  work 
girls  are  to  be  admitted  to  the  advantages  of  the  new  sys- 
tem of  lodgings. 

The  idea  seemed  at  first  a little  Utopian,  but  the  manner 
in  which  it  has  been  taken  hold  of  leaves  little  doubt  of 


23 


the  earnestness  of  its  projectors.  Mr.  Carl  Pfeiffer,  the 
architect,  submitted  plans  for  the  proposed  alterations, 
and  stated  that  in  numerous  conversations  with  merchants 
and  clerks,  he  found  a general  aquiescence  in  the  scheme. 
He  also  expressed  the  opinion  that  lofts  so  remodeled  into 
dwellings  wTould  yield  a rental  very  much  in  advance  of 
any  revenue  to  be  derived  from  them  in  their  present  con- 
dition. There  are  many  considerations  to  recommend  the 
plan,  and  we  hope  at  least,  that  it  will  have  a fair  trial. 
The  proportion  of  the  population  whose  interest  would  be 
subserved  by  the  establishment  of  cheap  and  commodious 
dwellings  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city  is  very  large,  and 
their  subtraction  from  the  tide  of  daily  travel  would  per- 
ceptibly relieve  the  pressure  on  the  horse  cars.  The 
economy  in  time,  and  in  traveling  expenses  too,  would  be 
very  great  for  many  who  can  afford  not  the  slightest  ex- 
travagance in  either,  and  the  comfort,  to  working  girls 
especially,  of  being  well  housed  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  place  of  their  employment,  instead  of  having  to 
walk,  as  many  now  are  compelled  to  do,  for  miles  in 
stormy  weather,  would  be  immense. 

There  are  obvious  objections  to  the  scheme,  which  we 
suppose  have  been  duly  considered  and  provided  against. 
As  the  proposed  dwellings  would  be,  for  the  most  part,  at 
the  top  of  high  buildings,  every  precaution  would  have  to 
be  taken  to  furnish  proper  facilities  for  escape  in  case  of 
fire.  Objection,  too,  would  probably  be  made  by  many  at 
first  to  living  in  the  lower  part  of  the  City,  on  the  score  of 
health.  These  objections,  however,  would  doubtless  van- 
ish with  experience.  There  is  no  part  of  Manhattan 
Island,  in  fact,  so  desirable  for  residence  as  its  lowrer  ex- 
tremity. Once  the  neighborhood  surrounding  the  Battery 
was  the  fashionable  quarter  of  the  City,  and  though  it  may 
never  become  so  again,  many  a dweller  on  Murray  Hill, 
during  the  Midsummer  heats,  may  turn  with  a sigh  of 
envy  to  its  cool  breezes,  and  regret  that  fashion  sacrificed 
so  eligible  a site.  Perhaps  if  the  Emigrant  Landing  De- 


( 


24 


pot  at  Castle  Garden  were  removed,  as  one  of  the  speakers 
at  the  Cooper  Institute  meeting  suggested,  to  a point 
nearer  the  various  steam-sliip  and  railroad  termini,  the 
old  dwellings  on  State  street  might  be  renovated  into  suit- 
able adjuncts  of  the  plan  we  speak  of.  A clerk  so  housed 
upon  the  bay  might  merit  the  envy  of  his  employer,  sti- 
lling in  brown-stone  grandeur. 


From  JDaily  Graphic , May  30,  1874 — Editorial. 
HOMES  FOR  WORKINGMEN. 

There  is  practical  good  sense  in  Mr.  Leavitt’s  proposal  to 
utilize  the  empty  floors  of  warehouses  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  city  as  residences  for  our  working  classes.  Business 
has  followed  the  upward  tide  of  population,  until  at  the 
present  time  there  are  hundreds  of  vacant  floors  and  scores 
of  vacant  houses  below  Vesey  street.  Rents  within  this 
region  have  fallen  until  they  are  now,  in  many  instances, 
fifty  per  cent  below  their  former  rates.  To  utilize  these 
vacancies  which  trade  will  not  fill,  by  appropriating  them 
as  cheap  residences  for  w orking  men  and  women  wdiose 
daily  work  lies  in  the  immediate  neighborhood,  is  certainly 
a happy  thought.  In  time  there  will  necessarily  be  a re- 
turn to  some  extent  of  our  population  to  the  Enver  part  of 
the  island,  which  has  so  long  been  deserted  as  a place  of 
residence.  State  street  and  Battery  place,  where  the  early 
Knickerbocker  aristocracy  of  the  city  formerly  lived,  ought 
to  be  recognized  as  affording  the  most  delightful  situation 
for  residences  in  the  whole  city.  Just  at  present  a number 
of  old  buildings  are  in  process  of  destruction  on  State 
street,  in  order  to  make  room  for  an  ordinary  tenement 
house.  There  ought  to  be  an  organized  effort  made  to  se- 
cure this  property,  and  prevent  the  erection  of  a building 
which  would  postpone  for  years  the  return  of  a middle-class 
population  to  the  region  of  the  Battery.  Why  does  not  some 
enterprising  joint-stock  company  purchase  the  entire  east 
side  of  State  street  and  build  a row  of  French-flat  houses  % 


•25 


CONSTITUTION 


— OF  THE — 


DWELLING-REFORM  ASSOCIATION. 


I. — TITLE. 

This  Society  shall  be  called  “ The  Dwelling-Reform 
Association/’ 

II. — OBJECTS. 

The  objects  of  the  Society  shall  be  to  improve,  cheapen 
and  render  more  accessible  and  more  attractive,  the  homes 
of  the  masses  of  the  people,  and  to  promote  the  normal 
distribution  of  population  in  town  and  country. 

It  will  seek  to  accomplish  its  purposes — 1.  By  corres- 
pondence with  similar  associations  in  this  and  other  coun- 
tries, and  with  individuals  interested  in  the  objects  of  the 
Society ; 2.  By  collecting  a library  comprising  all  accessi- 
ble publication,  bearing  on  these  subjects;  3.  by  holding 
regular  meetings  for  a public  and  private  interchange  of 
views,  and  providing  for  lectures,  addresses,  etc.;  4.  By 
advoeating  a systematic  study  of  the  evils  of  the  present 
tenement  system,  together  with  the  requirements  and  re- 
sources of  the  classes  of  citizens  directly  affected  thereby  ; 
5.  By  promoting  a scientific  inquiry  into  the  laws  which 
govern  the  relations  between  the  density  of  city  popula- 
tions and  their  moral,  social  and  intellectual  welfare  ; 6. 
By  such  a circulation  of  statistics  concerning  the  advan- 
tages of  the  various  parts  of  cities,  towns,  and  the  rural 
districts  as  will  tend  to  do  away  with  the  present  crowd- 
ing of  cities,  and  chaotic  and  periodic  migrations ; and 
foster  a natural,  systematic,  permanent  and  generally  sat- 
isfactory distribution  of  population. 


/ 


26 


III. — MEMBERSHIP. 

The  Society  shall  consist  of  Active,  Honorary  and  Cor- 
responding Members.  They  si  all  be  selected  with  special 
reference  to  their  acknowledged  interest  in,  and  devotion 
to,  the  declared  objects  of  the  Society.  Each  candidate 
for  membership  shall  be  proposed  in  writing,  by  a member 
of  the  Society,  to  the  Board  of  Directors.  On  recommen- 
dation of  the  Board,  and  on  receiving  a vote  of  two-thirds 
of  the  active  members  present  at  a regular  meeting,  the 
candidate  shall  be  declared  duly  elected  a member  of  the 
Society. 

The  annual  dues  of  active  members  shall  be  ten  dollars. 

The  Board  of  Directors-  may,  by  unanimous  vote,  from 
time  to  time,  elect  Honorary  Directors,  not  to  exceed  fifty 
in  number,  from  those  to  wdiom  in  their  opinion  the  Society 
may  be  under  obligations.  The  Honorary  Directors  shall 
hold  office  for  three  years,  and  those  who  pay  one  hundred 
dollars  into  the  treasury  shall  be  made  Honorary  Directors 
for  life.  Honorary  Directors  shall  be  exempt  from  all  dues 
and  shall  be  entitled  to  a voice  but  no  vote  at  the  meetings 
of  the  Board. 

IV. — MANAGEMENT. 

A Board  of  Directors,  consisting  of  twenty-one  members 
elected  by  the  active  members  of  the  Society,  shall  control 
its  affairs,  elect  its  officers,  make  By-Laws,  and  fill  vacan- 
cies in  their  own  body  until  the  time  of  the  next  annual 
election. 

The  Board  first  elected  shall  divide  themselves  into 
three  classes,  holding  office  respectively  for  the  term  of 
one,  two  and  three  years  from  the  date  of  their  election, 
and  thereafter  the  Society  shall,  at  their  annual  meeting, 
elect  seven  Directors,  to  hold  office  for  three  years,  and 
such  additional  number  as  may  be  necessary  to  fill  vacan- 
cies, to  hold  office  during  the  remainder  of  the  terms  of 
the  members  whose  places  they  fill.  A quorum  of  the 
Board  of  Directors  shall  consist  of  four  members.* 


27 


V. — OFFICERS. 

The  officers  shall  be  a President,  two  Vice-Presidents,  a 
Treasurer  and  a Secretary,  to  be  elected  annually  by  the 
Board  of  Directors,  from  among  their  own  number. 

PRESIDING  OFFICERS. 

The  President  and  Vice-Presidents  shall  perform  such 
duties  as  usually  pertain  to  their  offices. 

SECRETARY.  # 

The  Secretary  shall  be  the  only  salaried  officer,  and 
shall  have  charge  of  the  records,  library,  and  all  other 
property,  except  the  funds  of  the  Society.  He  shall  notify 
each  member  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  all  its  meetings, 
and  each  member  of  the  Society  of  all  its  meetings,  and 
issue  all  other  authorized  notices  to  members.  He 
shall  keep  a true  record  of  all  meetings  of  the  Directors 
and  of  the  Society,  and  shall  conduct  the  correspondence. 

TREASURER. 

The  Treasurer  shall  collect  and  take  charge  of  the  funds 
and  securities  of  the  Society,  and  shall  dispose  of  them  as 
instructed  by  the  Board  of  Directors. 

VI.— AMENDMENTS. 

To  amend  this  Constitution,  the  proposed  amendment 
shall  be  subscribed  by  at  least  ten  members,  and  presented 
to  the  President,  who  shall  cause  it,  with  the  signa- 
tures thereto,  to  be  brought  before  the  Board  of  Directors 
at  their  next  meeting  thereafter.  In  case  the  Directors  by 
a majority  vote,  recommend  its  passage,  the  Secretary  shall 
issue  notices  enclosing  a copy  of  the  amendment  to  all  the 
members  of  the  Society,  and  a vote  of  two-thirds  of  all  the 
members  pre-ent  at  the  next  annual  meeting  thereafter,  or 
at  a special  meeting  to  be  called  for  the  purpose,  in  favor 
of  the  proposed  amendment,  shall  be  requisite  for  its  pas- 
sage. 


f 


28 


BY  LAWS. 


ANNUAL  MEETING. 

1.  The  annual  meeting  of  the  Society  shall  be  held  on 
the  last  Monday  in  November  in  each  and  every  year  here* 
after,  when  the  annual  election  of  the  officers  of  the  Society 
shall  take  place ; and  if,  from  any  cause,  there  shall  be  a 
failure  of  the  annual  election  at  the  time  above  designated 
for  that  purpose,  the  same  may  be  held  on  the  Monday  next 
following,  of  which  due  notice  shall  be  given. 

2.  Every  member  of  the  Society,  who  has  been  such  for 
twenty  days  or#more,  and  who  is  not  in  arrears  for  his  dues 
for  the  past  year,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  the  said  election. 

3 At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Society,  the  Board  of 
Directors  shall  present  a general  report  of  its  proceedings, 
and  of  those  of  the  Society  during  the  past  year;  and  the 
Secretary  and  Treasurer  shall  present  their  annual  reports. 

MONTHLY  AND  ANNUAL  MEETINGS. 

1 The  Society,  unless  otherwise  specially  ordered  by  the 
Directors,  shall  hold  its  stated  meeting  for  the  transaction 
of  business,  on  the  first  Monday  of  each  month  oi  the  year, 
except  July.  August  and  September. 

2 The  President,  or,  in  his  absence,  one  of  the  Vice- 
Presidents  may,  and  upon  the  written  request  of  five  mem- 
bers shall  call  a special  meeting’  of  the  Society,  by  giving 
three  days'  notice  thereof  in  two  daily  newspapers  pub- 
lished in  the  City  of  New  York. 

DEBTS. 

The  debts  of  the  Society,  beyond  the  funds  in  the  treas- 
ury, shall  never  exceed  one  hundred  dollars. 

ORDER  OF  BUSINESS. 

At  all  stated  meetings  of  the  Society  for  the  transaction 
of  ordii  ary  business,  the  order  of  proceedings  shall  be  as 
follows : 

1.  Reading  of  the  Minutes. 

2.  Reports  and  communications  from  officers  of  the 
Society  and  Committees. 

3.  Election  of  Members. 

4.  Special  Orders. 

5.  Unfinished  Business. 

6.  Miscellaneous  Business. 

7.  Papers  and  addresses  delivered  before  the  Society. 


29 


NOTICES  AFTER  THE  ORGANIZATION. 

Times , Nov.  28,  1874 — Editorial . 

The  organization  and  purposes  of  the  “Dwelling  Re- 
form Association,”  to  which  reference  is  made  in  another 
column,  deserve  public  attention  and  support.  At  a time 
when  the  high  rate  of  mortality  from  contagious  diseases 
in  this  city  is  mainly  due  to  the  overcrowding  of  our  tene- 
ment population,  no  movement  can  be  more  seasonable 
than  one  which  proposes  to  aid  in  furnishing  cleanly  and 
roomy  abodes  for  the  laboring  classes.  In  its  efforts  “ to 
promote  the  normal  distribution  of  population  in  town  and 
country,”  the  society  is  likely  to  find  an  extensive  field  of 
operations  during  the  present  winter. 

* * — •> — « 

Ed.  Mail , Nov . 28, 1874 — Editorial. 

HOUSING  THE  POOR. 

We  have  not  the  space  to-day  to  develop  the  purposes 
of  the  “ Dwelling  Reform  Association,”  which  was  organ- 
ized yesterday.  The  main  object  is  “ to  improve,  cheapen, 
and  render  more  accessible  and  more  attractive  the  homes 
of  the  masses  of  the  people,  and  to  promote  the  normal  dis- 
tribution of  population  in  town  and  country.”  There  are 
many  methods  of  realizing  this  object,  one  of  which  has 
been  put  in  practice  the  past  year  by  Mr.  Edward  Mat- 
thews, who  has  leased  the  upper  lofts  of  a fine  store  in  low- 
er Broadway,  as  dwellings.  What  he  has  done  profitably 
could  be  imitated,  with  excellent  results,  by  hundreds  of 
owners  of  down-town  stores,  whose  lofts — airy,  healthy, 
spacious  and  comfortable — are  now  tenantless,  while  a sin- 
gle East  Side  block  reeks  with  the  filth  of  over  three  thous- 
and wretched  human  beings.  The  general  introduction  of 
elevators  will  add  tens  of  thousands  of  fir-t-class  rooms, 
now  unused,  to  the  facilities  for  quartering  our  poorer 
classes. 


X 


It  is  to  direct  public  and  private  attention  in  this  direc- 
tion of  humanitarian  effort ; to  call  out  the  suggestions  of 
experienced  architects,  landlords  and  travelers,  and  to  sup- 
ply hints  for  the  owners  of  partly  unoccupied  stores  and 
other  business  structures,  that  the  “ Dwelling  Reform  Asso- 
ciation ” is  instituted.  Of  its  work  more  hereafter.  We 
will  only  add  to-day,  that  the  President  of  the  Association, 
Mr.  Parke  Godwin,  has  probably  devoted  more  time  and 
thought  to  the  subject  of  “ housing”  the  poor,  and  has  in- 
vestigated the  foreign  experiments  more  thoroughly  than 
any  other  of  our  citizens. 

► — 

♦ 

Times , Nov.  28,  1874. 

DOWN-TOWN  DWELLING  REFORM. 

MOVEMENT  OF  CITIZENS  TO  IMPROVE  DOMICILIARY  FACILI- 
TIES— SOMETHING  TO  INTEREST  ALL  RESIDENTS — ELECTION 
OF  OFFICERS. 

An  organization  which  will  hereafter  be  known  as  “ The 
Dwelling  Reform  Association  ” was  brought  into  existence 
yesterday,  at  a meeting  of  scientists  and  philanthropists 
and  at  the  office  of  Mr.  Carl  Pfeiffer,  No.  113  Broadway 
At  that  meeting  the  movement  took  practical  shape  by  the 
election  of  the  following  officers  : * * 

The  remaining  officers  and  directors  ( to  the  number  of  21  ) 
will  be  elected  at  a meeting  to  be  held  hereafter.  In  con- 
nection with  a reprint  edition  of  articles  from  the  Times 
and  other  journals  on  the  objects  of  the  movement,  the 
Association  has  published  an  explanatory  prospectus,  in 
which  they  say : * * * 

[Here  was  quoted  the  entire  “ Preface  ” of  this  pamphlet, 
and  a statement  was  given  of  the  correspondence,  etc.] 


Com.  Aclver.y  Nov.  28,  1874. 

A COMMENDABLE  MOVEMENT. 

DOWN-TOWN  DWELLINGS. 

* * * * * 

Stated  more  specifically,  the  design  is  to  make  the  lower 
wards  of  New  York  City  more  attractive  as  a place  of  resi- 


31 


dence.  Not  only  is  it  practicable  to  erect  buildings  ex- 
pressly designed  for  dwelling  purposes,  but  large  numbers 
of  costly  and  well-arranged  buildings  down-town,  now  used 
only  for  mercantile  purposes,  are  equally  well  adapted  in 
their  upper  floors  to  the  use  of  families.  A number  of 
substantial  tenement  houses  have  recently  been  completed, 
like  that  on  the  site  of  the  old  North  River  Bank,  corner 
of  Greenwich  and  Dey  streets ; also  on  State  Street  front- 
ing the  Battery,  formerly  esteemed  the  most  aristocratic 
in  New  York.  A still  better  form  of  investment  is,  to  con- 
vert down-town  lofts  into  residences,  rather  than  attempt 
to  supplant  business  property  for  domestic  purposes.  As 
a rule,  janitors  in  the  lower  wards,  occupy  apartments  that 
are  palatial  in  comparison  with  the  tenements  up-town, 
and  the  desire  is  to  make  property  of  this  character  more 
generally  attractive,  thereby  utilizing  buildings  now  occu- 
pied only  in  part,  and  at  the  same  time  tend  to  relieve  the 
pressure  up  town. 

+ 

The  Herald , World,  Sun , JEv.  Post  and  Tribune , etc.  had 
good  notices  of  the  formation  of  the  society,  and  there  was 
no  adverse  criticism. 


OFFICERS  AND  DIRECTORS,  1875. 


OFFICERS. 

President,  PARKE  GODWIN, 

Vice  Pres.,  J.  M.  BUNDY, 

Treasurer,  J.  K.  INGALLS, 

Secretary,  SAMUEL  LEAVITT. 


DIRECTORS. 


HIRAM  BARNEY, 

J.  M.  BUNDY, 
HOWARD  CROSBY, 
C.  F.  DEEMS, 
PARKE  GODWIN, 
A.  S.  HEWITT, 

J.  B.  HODGSKIN, 
ELISHA  HARRIS, 


J.  K.  INGALLS, 
SAMUEL  LEAVITT, 
JOHN  MAC  MULLEN, 
CARL  PFEIFFER, 

G.  W.  SAMSON, 

B.  B.  SHERMAN, 
STEPHEN  SMITH, 
SAMUEL  WILLETS. 


' 


V 

/ 


